Prime Minister Tony Blair plans landmark talks with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in recognition of Tripoli's decision to renounce weapons of mass destruction, Britain said yesterday.
An encounter between Mr Blair and Col Gaddafi would mark a further step in Libya's reintegration into the international community following its surprise pledge in December to abandon plans to develop atomic and other mass destruction weapons.
"We are hoping very much that a visit can be arranged as soon as convenient but no date has yet been fixed," said Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
He was speaking at a news conference with his Libyan counterpart Mohamed Abderrhmane Chalgam, who earlier met Mr Blair on the first visit by a Libyan foreign minister since 1969 when Col Gaddafi took power in a bloodless coup.
Talks between Mr Blair and Col Gaddafi would set the seal on Libya's reintegration, though Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi became the first Western leader to meet Gaddafi since his weapons pledge on a visit to Tripoli on Tuesday.
It was not clear whether a meeting between Mr Blair and Col Gaddafi would also take place on Libyan soil.
Mr Straw said "good progress" was being made with Libya on implementing its December 19 agreement to dismantle its weapons programmes and Mr Chalgam said his country was cooperating fully with international inspectors.
"Regarding programmes of weapons of mass destruction, we are the ones who took the initiative in this matter," Mr Chalgam said, according to a translator.
Libya has long been listed by the United States as a sponsor of terrorism, and suffered United Nations sanctions until last year for the 1988 bombing of an airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people.
But London and Washington have been moving rapidly to bring Tripoli back in from the cold in past months.
Last year, Libya paid $2.7 billion in compensation for Lockerbie victims.
Mr Straw said the two countries would also "enhance" their efforts to resolve the case of the 1984 killing of British policewoman Yvonne Fletcher, who was shot outside the Libyan embassy in London during a protest.
Gunfire appeared to come from the embassy but Libya has failed to cooperate fully with the inquiry, according to UK officials.
Britain and Libya would also work on tackling terrorism and on helping Tripoli implement economic reforms, Mr Straw said.
The British government played a key diplomatic role in securing December's weapons agreement, which has given a huge boost to Libya's efforts to end its international isolation.
Britain has moved faster than the United States to restore ties. Washington has yet to lift economic sanctions, including a ban on travel by US citizens to Libya.
But after three-way talks in London last week, US officials said Washington might soon lift restrictions on travel to Libya if Tripoli continued to make progress on the pledge to halt weapons programmes.